WebRTC can bring joy to the agent

When we think of a contact center, we traditionally picture a building or two with a mass of people inside, all talking on phones. The whole setup - buildings, people, desks, chairs and of course telephones, computer hardware and software is a big investment that has been perhaps years in the making and costs a great deal to maintain.

The Cloud is changing this model and the costly capital investments of the past can largely be replaced by services available over the internet and paid for as needed. One particular tool that is making this adoption easier and quicker is WebRTC.

Gone are the requirements for a physical phone plugged into a legacy on-premise system. Agents can now be located wherever you like and through WebRTC the only tool they need to start working in your contact centre is a computer or tablet with a browser. A remote contact center agent simply needs to access a given url and the contact center functionality will be supplied to their screen, including the ability to make voice and video calls.

Remote agents can become nomadic if they choose. As long as they can access the internet and have a decent connection there is no reason why they need to always be in the same location. Perfect for agents who lead a less conventional lifestyle and ideal for contact centers who value those agents' skills and want to keep hold of them.

Not only will the agent be able to talk to the customer, WebRTC capability includes video functionality which can greatly enhance the agent/customer experience and increase overall satisfaction for both. The ability for agents to co-browse with customers and colleagues further adds to the benefits offered through WebRTC; one click is all that is needed, no time consuming additional login required to a separate application.

The WebRTC function for the agent can be provided in whatever guise is required; a simple button which opens up when clicked to display a traditional keypad where the agent clicks the digits required to dial a telephone number or it might be a small entry field that displays the number that has been typed in. Regardless of display layout, the ease with which a number can be dialled is not changed.